Military shell found near Kapaa Quarry

The unexploded ordnance was in a former training area

A backhoe operator unearthed an unexploded mortar shell yesterday along Kapaa Quarry Road in Kailua, forcing a shutdown of a section of the road.

The operator initially thought the corroded 21-by-4-inch tubular object was a corroded pipe, until he noticed a pin, police said. The police bomb squad was called to the scene and determined the ordnance to be possibly a World War II-era mortar, Sgt. Robert Towne said. The area is a former military training area, he said.

Police contacted the military, since the ordnance is military in origin. Marines from Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe picked up the mortar and will likely detonate it on base.

The property owner was having concrete barriers put up to prevent access to his property by trespassers who have been "four-wheeling" there, Towne said.

Police blocked off the road a half mile in both directions shortly after 2:15 p.m., and reopened the road just before 5 p.m.

Towne said many residents who were taking their trash to the Kapaa Transfer Station were upset when the road was closed from the Kalanianaole Highway side, forcing them to make a long detour to get to the other end of the road.